Maximum PC compares seven 802.11n routers

Raise your hand if you have a wireless router at home. Yeah, I thought so. As a follow-up to a comparison of budget 802.11n routers published earlier this year, Maximum PC has rounded up seven high-end routers from an assortment of manufacturers. Each router's wireless performance was tested in six different household locations, including an enclosed patio and outdoors at a distance of 85 feet.

The differences in throughput between the routers are quite striking, particularly in the outdoor test, in which two of the routers failed to connect at all. Of the seven models in the spotlight, Netgear's RangeMax V1 scored the highest on the strength of its excellent performance and reasonable price. In somewhat of a surprise, Asus' RT-N16 came in second place. Meanwhile, Linksys' E3000 was deemed the worst of the bunch. Given that router's relatively low throughput, it's easy to see why.